One 13-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were all arrested and face charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and conspiracy to construct a destructive device.

When school personnel found "disturbing information" on a student's notebook that suggested there was a plan to harm other students and school staffers on April 2, they contacted Lakeland Police.

Police searched the bedroom of the 13-year-old girl believed to be the ringleader of the group. Inside, they found that the girl had been doing extensive research on bomb-making.

She also researched the stories of infamous mass-murderers including Adam Lanza, the man who fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December and the 1999 Columbine High School attackers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, said Capt. Greg Policastro, one of the investigators in the case.

In both cases, the killers' ended their reigns of terror with suicide.

"Because of the action of school personnel and the Lakeland Police Department, a potential crisis at this school may have been interrupted," said police spokesman, Capt. John Thomason in an official statement.

The 13-year-old boy and the 12-year-old girl were friends of the ringleader and police describe them as her "followers."

They were arrested shortly after the plot was discovered and the ringleader was committed. She was served with her charges Thursday.

Investigators do not believe any other students at the middle school were involved and police say the children's parents appear to have been unaware of their plans.

Policastro said the plot was discovered early and foiled before the children had a chance to build their bomb, choose an attack date or name targets.

"The Lakeland Police Department and Polk County Public Schools take it very serious when potential threats to the safety of schools, and the children that attend them, come to our attention. The partnership we have with school officials will ensure that we do everything possible to keep our children and community safe from harm," Thomason said.